NEW ORLEANS, LA – Today, Mayor Mitch Landrieu commemorates the 1963 civil rights movement and 50th anniversary of the bombing of the Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church during the City of Birmingham’s Empowerment Week alongside mayors from across the country.

As part of multi-day event, Mayor Landrieu will participate in a United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) panel discussion about reaching economic equality with Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter; Mayor Paul Soglin from Madison, Wisconsin; and Mayor Marilyn Strickland from Tacoma, Washington. A second panel will follow with Mayor Alvin Brown from Jacksonville, Florida; Mayor Chris Cabaldon from Sacramento, California; Mayor Greg Fisher of Louisville, Kentucky and Mayor Ardell Brede from Rochester, Minnesota specking about building tolerance in cities across the country.

Mayor Landrieu will also join 41 US mayors to introduce the U.S. Coalition of Cities Against Racism and Discrimination with the release of the Coalition’s 10-Point Action Plan to End Racism and Discrimination. USCM established the U.S. Coalition of Cities Against Racism and Discrimination to help improve policies that combat racism, discrimination, xenophobia and exclusion in cities across the world in partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the U.S. Department of State. The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more.

The event is being broadcast live on C-SPAN via streaming on their website (http://www.c-span.org/) and their radio station.

Mayor Landrieu will return to New Orleans on Friday, September 13, 2013.